Mama Doe Wisdom

My Mama Doe and Me

Tall, damp grass tangles around my toes, soggy earth perfume fills the air, a red apple falls from the twisted and knotted old tree bordering our rural wilderness. Standing still, her ears twitching this way and that, a mother doe slowly and cautiously leads her two spotted fawns closer to the fallen fruit. Just a few feet behind her, the fawns follow, their white tails wagging and ears twitching, patiently waiting for their mother to give them the "okay." She steps forward and begins to eat, the little ones follow suit coming up on either side of her finding plenty of apples. After a little while watching I turn back towards the house, the sound of my slight movement makes Mama Doe start and look around, she sees me and begins to sniff the air and snort. The fawns look up at her, curious to see why she has stopped grazing. She turns and waits for the fawns to notice, then gracefully bounds back into the woods, the fawns following in their feebler and not yet determined gait.
Events and experiences are more keenly felt and understood, once one has or in my case, will soon be, experienced for oneself. As I approach the new stage of my life, motherhood, I can't help noticing all forms of mothers, children, and families. Time spent with my own mother is seen through a new looking glass, and I wonder at the amazing and beautiful example I've had for a mother. It fills me with questions: will I be as strong and as brave as she, will I have the wisdom, the compassion, and the perseverance that all growing up seemed to be so natural and easy for her. As my mom and I sit and talk over lunch, she tells me, " You're going to be a wonderful mother." Laughing nervously in my doubt, she continues, " I wasn't the perfect mother, and you know I made mistakes, but if you trust in the Lord- He gives you the strength, He gives you the wisdom, and He gives you the courage to wake up everyday with a smile on your face, ready to claim the greatest calling of your life. Being a mother is so much fun!" 
I've watched, learned, and followed my mom, just like the little fawns did this morning. I'm so grateful to know that I've had the best teacher, for she has followed the greatest teacher of them all, Christ. So as I step out in faith, into a field strewn with apples, I take confidence in knowing that my God is greater than any weakness I have and that He will provide whatever it is I need to be the mother He is calling me to be. What a joyful and happy place to be...